Kedareshwar Mahadev Temple Varanasi

Vital Information for Visitors

Address:

Kedareshwar Mahadev Temple, B-6/102, Kedar Ghat, Sonarpura, Varanasi, U.P.

Open & Close:

Open on all days

Timings:

04:00 AM – 10:00 PM

Aarti Timings:

Early Morning – 4:00 AM
Morning – 10:00 AM
Evening - 4:00 PM
Night – 10:00 PM

Entry Fee:

NIL

Duration:

30 Min to 1 Hour

Significance :

Gauri Kund & Kedar Ghat

One of the Saptpuri of India, Varanasi is known in the world for being the oldest living city in the world. The narrow lanes, dilapidated buildings, ancient sites, centuries old shrines, traditional religious rituals etc showcase rich and deep historical lineage of Varanasi. Varanasi unfolds innumerable aspects of its cultural colors that include religious, holy, hippie, urban and mythological vibes. As per the religious scriptures, the holy city of Varanasi is divided into three sections (खंड- Khand) – Omkar Khand (ओंकार खण्ड), Vishweshwar Khand (विश्वेश्वर खण्ड) and Kedar Khand (केदार खण्ड). Kedareshwar Mahadev Temple is located in Kedar Khand of Varanasi. It is also called Gauri Kedareshwar Temple. This temple is always compared with the Kedarnath Temple of Uttarakhand in the Himalayas. It is believed to have survived Aurangzeb’s destruction in the 17th century, and its superstructure is therefore older than the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. The Gauri Kund nearby is revered as the Adi Manikarnika or the first / original Manikarnika, it makes it the holiest of Varanasi’s tirthas.

In comparison to other ‘shivalingams’, Gauri Kedareshwar lingam is different as it is divided into two parts. One part represents Lord Shiva & Goddess Parvati and another part is representative of Lord Narayana & Goddess Laxmi. The worship ritual in Kedareshwar Mahadev Temple is also different compared to other Lord Shiva temples. The priests perform aarti by wearing unstitched clothes. Along with offering bael-leaf (बेल पत्र), milk and Ganga water on the ‘shivlingam’, ‘khichdi’ (खिचड़ी) is also offered in ‘bhog’ (भोग). It is believed that Lord Shiva himself comes here to enjoy ‘khichri’. Kedareshwar, originally a temple in the Himalayas dedicated to Lord Shiva, is popularly known as Kedarnath. It is one of twelve jyortirlingas (द्वादश ज्योतिर्लिंग). As per the legend, Kedareshwara appeared in Kashi from the food (khichri), made up of green gram and kept as Naivedya by the sage Mandhata. The ‘navedya’ (नैवेद्य) then got transformed into a stone ‘shivlingam’. Therefore, the devotees believe that the existing ‘shivlingam’ is built of grains and self-manifested. Muslim invaders had tried to destruct the temple and the scars of the same can be seen on Nandi bull of the temple. Queen Ahilya Bai Holkar rebuilt the Kedareshwar Mahadev Temple in Varanasi in 18th century. She also built a ‘dharmashala’ (धर्मशाला) of 365 rooms and donated a piece of land in Tamil Nadu to cultivate rice for the temple. The temple is located right above Kedar Ghat and one of its entry is from the ghat side too.

The devotees visit the temple on a regular basis. But, there are some religiously important days like Ekadashi, Pradosh & Purnima when the number of devotees surge in the temple. Every year, Anna Abhishekam (अन्न अभिषेकम), an extremely sacred ritual of covering ‘shivalingam’ with cooked rice, is performed here. As per the prevalent belief, performing ‘puja’ & ‘abhishek’ of Lord Kedareshwar after taking bath in the Gauri Kund or Ganga is considered extremely auspicious. Offering ‘puja’ with milk, water and flowers on the Mondays of the Shravan month has special significance. The regular pujas in Kedareshwar Mahadev Temple are performed by Kumaraswamy Mutt of Tamil Nadu. Four ‘aarti’ in a day are carried out at 4 AM, 10 AM, 4 PM & 9 PM.